Did you know that in Florida, 33.1% of children ages 10-17 are overweight or obese? This means Florida has a higher percentage of childhood obesity than the national average which stands at 30.6%. A study from the New England Journal of Medicine shows that children who are overweight or obese are more likely than others to become obese as adults. A 2004 study commissioned by the Action for Healthy Kids show that overweight and obese children may also suffer from higher rates of depression, greater difficulty in peer relationships and poorer quality of life than their normal weight counterparts.
This is why partnerships like Healthy Jacksonville Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition and the BCBSF Foundation are important. This August marked the 10th anniversary of the coalition and was commemorated with the unveiling of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Foundation’s 2011 Embrace a Healthy Florida grant recipients for the city of Jacksonville.
To learn more, watch Susan Towler (Vice President, BCBSF Foundation) speak at the Healthy Jacksonville Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition's 10-Year Anniversary Celebration.
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